Memory decline: Vision impairment may be bad omen

Distance vision impairment signals an accelerated rate of memory decline in adults, a study has found.

The analysis included 8,939 individuals aged 50–95 years from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) from the US and 8,315 individuals aged 50­–­94 years from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS).

Over an average follow-up of up to 4 years, the composite memory fell by 0.16 points in CHARLS and by 0.51 in HRS. Distance vision impairment was negatively associated with an annual change in composite memory (β, –0.07, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], –0.12 to –0.01) and immediate memory (β, –0.04, 95 percent CI, –0.07 to –0.02) in CHARLS. The same was true in HRS, with respective values of –0.19 (95 percent CI, –0.34 to –0.05) and –0.07 (95 percent CI, –0.13 to 0.00).

Near vision impairment, in particular, contributed to an annual decline in delayed memory in CHARLS and in composite memory, immediate memory, and delayed memory in HRS.

In HRS, the relationship between distance vision impairment and memory decline was evident among individuals aged <65 years (β, –0.54, 95 percent CI, –0.78 to –0.30) but not among those who were older (aged ≥65 years; β, –0.01, 95 percent CI, –0.20 to 0.18).

Cataract surgery or glaucoma showed no association with memory decline in either CHARLS or HRS.